Place has been a fundamental topic for geographers (Agnew, 1987). It stands both for a study object and a manner of perceiving the world. This thesis departs from the theoretical debate regarding places and how places are considered as being spatially fixed in the sense that places cannot be reproduced or imitated elsewhere. However, technological innovations have extraordinary significance in all the realms of leisure and lifestyle (Godbey, 1997) whereas, leisure activities increasingly are being simulated and reproduced exemplifying the new postmodern culture and the ‘post-tourist’ (Urry, 1990). Thus, challenges the spatial fix of places (Shaw & Williams, 2004). There has been little empirical research regarding artificial environments and therefore, the research problem contributes to understand how artificial environments are altering habitual travel patterns regarding the ‘genuine’ or as previous authors have stated, regarding the ‘real thing’. The research questions proposed for the study, directed the researcher to a quantitative approach using the questionnaire as a main source of data collection. The simulated environment that was investigated in the study was the indoor ski slope located in Madrid (Spain). The results showed that the simulated environment is enhancing and intervening the ski activity. For most of the skiers the indoor ski slope is complementing their ski activity in front of the outdoor ski resorts. Furthermore, the facility is recruiting every year a great number of new skiers that after skiing indoors desire to experience the ‘real thing’. Due to the proximity of the facility to the major urban areas, the indoor ski slope is acting as an intervening opportunity and boosting the visitors towards outdoor skiing.

The purpose of this thesis is three-fold. First, it explored the ski resort marketing based on place and destination marketing theories. New trends and best practices support the theory by practical examples from the field and online research. Moreover, general hypotheses about ski resorts' visitors were defined. The second objective was to analyze the behavior of ski resorts' visitors based on a quantitative research. As a result, the predefined hypotheses were either confirmed or disproved. Finally, practical implications and recommendations combining the recent trends and tourists' experiences were discussed to suggest future development of ski resort marketing practices. In the end, research results, conclusions as well as its limitations are presented. Overall, this thesis could serve as a comprehensive study of current trends in the area of ski resort marketing and visitors' behavior and experiences.

This work deals with Government Cloud (G-Cloud) solutions which provide shared ICT services in the field of public authorities. These solutions are deployed mainly because they bring significant financial savings for government. The aim of this work is to analyse three selected G-Cloud solutions and based on this analysis propose a concept of the solution suitable for the Czech Republic. G-Cloud solutions used in Denmark, Great Britain and Slovakia were selected for this analysis. First, a set of unified criteria was established to allow an objective analysis. Through these criteria, analysed solutions were described in terms of concept, offered services, delivery process and service usage, scheduling the entire solution and its component parts, security, legislation, and providing information to interested parties. The main benefits of this work are the comparison of analysed solutions and the draft concept of the solution for the Czech Republic.

The theme of the diploma thesis was the elaboration of an architectural study of a selected building from the undergraduate project of the urban design of the Kraliky Sports and Recreation Resort in the Ústí nad Orlicí district. The urban-architectural study defined a property suitable for the location of a mountain hotel, which is located in close proximity to the existing urban development south of the city and in the southwestern part of the defined location for the implementation of the sports and recreational resort Kraliky. The city's intention is to build a new hotel complex on its own property to provide maximum service for the emerging resort. The ski hotel is designed as one building with additional structures including ancillary buildings such as paved areas and roads, utilities, etc. The ski hotel is designed in an energy-passive standard, it will meet the requirements for high quality indoor environment and will minimize energy consumption for its operation. The priority of the project is a healthy indoor environment and environmental friendliness. The aim was to create a building that respects the surrounding buildings and its material solution does not protrude into the surroundings.

1 Abstract Name: Complex evaluation of the basic school ski courses in the Czech republic Objective: The objective of this diploma thesis is to evaluate complexly a chosen basic school ski school courses in the Czech republic according to five above mentioned criteria and to confirm or dismiss hypothesisses. Methodology: I created a non-standardized questionnare with open-ended, semi close-ended and close- ended questions to evaluate ski courses according to the above mentioned criteria. This questionnare was sended non-anonymously online via survio.com to randomly chosen basic schools in every single province of the Czech republic. Collected data were statistically analysed in the Survio and Microsoft EXCEL® programm and the results were eriched with graphs and commentary. Results: In this diploma thesis basic school ski courses were evaluated according to determined criteria, at least one hypothesis was related to every criterion. I could confirm that the majority of ski course leaders are ski instructors (50 hours training, no trade licence). I could confirm four other hypothesisses as well, i. e. cross-country skiing is an essential part of more than 50% ski courses, less than 50% of pupils attend basic school ski courses, the majority of ski course instructors are teaching in accordance with the...

Changes in climate result in wide-ranging economic impacts, especially for businesses that rely on consistent weather patterns. The North Carolina ski resorts (Beech Mountain Ski Resort, Appalachian Ski Resort, Sugar Mountain Ski Resort, Wolf Ridge Ski Resort, Cataloochee Ski Area, and Sapphire Valley Ski Area) are the southernmost resorts on the east coast in the US. They are able to stay in business because of the diverse terrain and elevation of the Appalachian Mountains where they can see low record temperatures of -34°F. Observable increases in temperature and less snowfall accumulations generate concern for these businesses that rely not only on snow but temperatures low enough to produce their own snow. To understand what may happen in the future, it is pertinent to examine past and ongoing trends. Yearly snowfall data from fall 2010 to spring 2018 were obtained from the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and interpolated using ordinary kriging. Teleconnections (Arctic Oscillation, El Niño Southern Oscillation, and North Atlantic Oscillation) were examined to help compare similar years to observe possible relationships. The stations that had data for all of the years observed were spatially analyzed through regression kriging (RK) to determine how climate change will affect those areas. A kernel density map was then created from active CoCoRaHS stations to observe which areas need more stations to generate better interpolation data for future years. The results are impactful for the ski resorts, helping them to make effective business decisions based on climate trends and to promote the use of citizen science to improve research efforts.

Bakgrund Den kommersiella utvecklingen inom idrott har de senaste decennierna lett till nya möjligheter inom en sport- och mediarelation. Denna kan delas upp mellan flera sammanhängande parter där en idrottsorganisation attraherar sponsorintäkter, sponsorer söker varumärkesexponering och broadcast bolag vill skapa intäkter via reklam och nya abonnenter. Denna studie innefattar parter från Svenska Skidförbundet, avgränsat till grenen längdskidor, deras sponsorer samt Viaplay som tagit över Tv-rättigheterna för längdskidvärldscupen. Syfte Syftet med uppsatsen är att utforska ett nyuppkommet trepartsförhållande samt att analysera hur parterna påverkas av varandra. Metod En kvalitativ undersökning har genomförts där nio respondenter intervjuats från organisationer och företag inom trepartsförhållandet. Med bakgrund av tidigare forskning samt insamlad empiri från semistrukturerade intervjuer har en analys på materialet gjorts. Resultat Resultatet visar att parterna i trepartsförhållandet påverkar varandra i stor utsträckning. Även om den kommersiella utvecklingen medför nya möjligheter för flera parter är inte alla överens om dess positiva påverkan på idrotten. Alla parter i trepartsförhållandet gynnas av ett ökat intresse till längdskidåkningen vilket de alla kan vara med och påverka. Vi har även identifierat en underliggande konflikt rörande tittarsiffror som skapar problem för både Svenska Skidförbundet och deras sponsorer. Slutsats Studiens slutsats bidrar till att få en ökad förståelse över hur trepartsförhållandet är uppbyggt, hur parterna påverkar varandra och vad som kan göras för att stärka trepartsförhållandet. Ett teoretiskt och praktiskt bidrag utifrån resultatet kan ge ny kunskap och information till alla i trepartsförhållandet. / Background The commercial development of sport in recent decades have led to new opportunities in sport and media relations. This relation is divided into several interrelated components where a sport organization seek to attract sponsorship revenues, sponsors seek to increase brand exposure and the broadcaster generate revenue through advertising and new subscribers. This study includes parties from the Swedish Ski Federation, limited to cross-country skiing, their sponsors and Viaplay which have taken over the TV rights for the cross-country ski worldcup. Purpose The purpose of the thesis is to explore a new tripartite relationship and to analyze how the parties are affected by each other. Methodology A qualitative survey was conducted in which nine respondents were interviewed from organizations and companies within the tripartite relationship. Based on previous research and collected empirical data from semi-structured interviews, an analysis of the material has been made. Results The results show that the parties in the tripartite relationship influence each other to a great extent. Although commercial development brings new opportunities for several parties, not everyone agrees on its positive impact on sport. All parties in the tripartite relationship benefit from an increased interest in cross-country skiing, which they all can be involved in and influence. We have also identified an underlying conflict regarding viewers that creates a problem for both the Swedish Ski Federation and their sponsors. Conclusion The study's conclusion contributes to an increased understanding of how the tripartiterelationship is structured, how the parties affect each other and what can be done to strengthen the tripartite relationship. A theoretical and practical contribution based on the results can provide new knowledge and information to everyone in the tripartite relationship.

Även om allemansrätten är grundlagsskyddad genom regeringsformen är dess innehåll inte definierat i lag, upprätthållandet baseras istället primärt på sedvana. En av frågorna det inte finns något tydligt svar på är om, och i sådana fall till vilken grad ett skidspår kan utsläcka allemansrätten när spårhållare begränsar tillgången till allemansrättslig mark genom en spåravgift. Nya samhällstrender och de senaste årens allt kortare vintrar, med högre temperaturer och mindre snö, har tvingat vissa spårhållare att ta betalt för att täcka ökade kostnader för konstsnö, skötsel och underhåll. Då det handlar om mark som täcker större områden involverar avgiften mark som i grunden är menad att vara allemansrättsligt tillgänglig. Studiens syfte är att undersöka: den juridiska definitionen av ”anläggning” och under vilka omständigheter en anläggning uppstår som kan begränsa tillgängligheten till mark som är till för allmänheten, och om en spårhållare, genom att erbjuda spårunderhåll, på rättsliga grunder kan kräva betalt för marken som från början varit menad för allmänheten. Samt hur en avgift påverkar möjligheten att nå Sveriges friluftspolitiska mål, att allemansrätten ska värnas och att naturen ska vara tillgänglig för alla. Den (sparsamma) lagstiftningen, sedvanerätt och rättsliga avgöranden studerades med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod där semistrukturerade intervjuer varvades med genomgång av material såsom lagtext, propositioner, förarbeten, myndighetsrapporter och organisationshandlingar. Studiens resultat visade att tolkningen av begreppet anläggning och huruvida en tvingande avgift är legitim varierar och att eventuella förändringar i allemansrätten bör sättas i ett större sammanhang. Förvaltningsdomstolarna tar flera faktorer i beaktning när en avvägning ska göras mellan allemansrätten och möjligheten att ta ut en avgift. Såsom anläggningens fysiska avgränsning, grad av underhåll och nedlagda kostnader. Allemansrätten har breda gråzoner och är i ett rättsligt avseende så pass tunt beskriven att det är svårt att utifrån lagstiftningen definiera vad en anläggning är. Fler studier behövs på området och situationen för ett berättigat avgiftsuttag verkar osäker till dess att det finns en mer precis rättslig definition av vad en anläggning är. / Although granted by the Swedish constitution, the right of public access is not well-defined by the law and its enforcement has therefore been based primarily on customary law. One of the questions that remains to be answered is if, and if so to what extent, the competing right of charging a fee for a facility, can be used by ski-track suppliers to limit the right of public access on public areas. The effects of climate change and new behaviors have forced some ski-track suppliers to charge an “access and use” fee in order to cover their costs of providing artificial snow and the resulting maintenance. Due to the large area covered the access and use fee involves land belonging to the public. This study aims to explore: the legal concept of a “facility” and under what circumstances the owner of a facility can limit public access to a land property, if a ski-track supplier, by providing track maintenance, can claim to be a facility owner with sufficient legal grounds for limiting public access to it, and how fees for nature-based activities affect political goals. The methods used are interpretation of the (sparse) legislation, customary law and legal precedence through case law. Semi-structured interviews and interpretation of legal texts, government bills, preambles, authorities’ reports and organizations’ reports.  The results show that: there are different ways of understanding the concept of a “facility” and thus if a compulsory fee is legal, and  that when decisions are made to change the right of public access, their effects must be considered in a wider context. The examination shows that the Administrative Courts are looking at several variables when weighing the right of public access against the right to charge a fee for a facility, such as its physical boundary, its costs and maintenance. The right of public access contains grey areas and is too vaguely described in the law in order to give a precise definition of what a facility is. Follow-up studies are required, and the situation seems to be uncertain until there is a legal definition of the concept of “facility”.

Tourism sector has been one of the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the sectors that comprises economies in many countries is ski sector. However, the winter season 2020/2021 was suspended in many ski destinations all over the world. The aim of this research is to investigate the adaptation of downhill skiers to ski area closures in the Czech Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The methodology draws upon an online discussion forum which provides good data for a content analysis, a method used for both quantitative and qualitative approaches. By utilizing both approaches a good comprehension of downhill skiers' adaptation to ski area closures in the Czech Republic during the COVID-19 pandemic is provided. Particularly, four key findings can be concluded based on this research. Firstly, both the quantitative and qualitative analyses have shown that information substitution was the most frequent one among all discussion forum users. Secondly, involuntary/forced substitution proved to be a significant form of behavioural adaptation and should be considered especially when assessing the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic or dealing with other threats and challenges such as natural disasters, wars, terrorist attacks or another pandemic. Thirdly, the great number of non-substitutional responses mentioned in the discussions' posts was attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fourthly, female downhill skiers do not participate in online discussion forums as much as male downhill skiers. Potential reasons for this are also discussed.

Forskning och karakterisering av alpinskidors belag kräver mycket tid och resurser att utföra därav försvinner informationsmängd inom området, då de tester som görs inte delas offentligt. Idag användsuteslutningsmetoden mycket och inte mätvärden som testats fram. Idenna rapport undersöks varför den ena skidan är snabbare än den andra med hjälp av teknisk information i form av data.Arbetet kring studien introducerades med en förstudie. I förstudien identifierades problem, analys av artiklar samt förberedelse kring intervju. Under arbetet har större del av tiden arbetats kring glidtester och uppsikt av strukturen samt att undersöka strukturer på belaget med mikroskop på ett laboratorium i Uppsala.Resultatet omfattar teoretiskt bevis grundat på mätdata som arbetats fram vid Ångströms laboratorium. Med hjälp av tre skilda strukturer som syftar till varierande karaktär, visar resultaten hur olika strukturer ger utslag i glid mellan snö och belag. Strukturerna som användes var helbäddsstruktur, kryss-struktur med släppta kanter samt fiskbensstruktur.Slutsatser kring projektet är att det glidtest som utfördes inte höll tillräckligt hög standard. För att kunna styrka att någon av strukturerna var snabbare än den andra behöver man utveckla glidtestet. Tiderna indikerar på skillnad i strukturerna, men på grund av de brister i testet som uppkom kan man inte med säkerhet fastställa att det är enbart strukturen som gör att tiden påverkas.Det går inte hitta någon korrelation mellan mikroskopsbilderna och de resultat man fick från glidtesterna, vilket ledet till att målet inte uppnåttsmed att hitta de parametrar som påverkar friktionen mellan skida ochsnö / In this study, the characteristics of an alpine ski’s base structure arepresented. The goal is to identify which parameters on the surface control the friction between the ski and the snow. The project is based on selfstudies through laboratory experiments and tests has been completed with facts from scientific reports and articles. This thesis is written for Sports Technology - Bachelor of Science in Product Development at Mid Sweden University Spring term 2022.Research and characterization of the alpine ski base require a lot of time and resources. As a result, the amount of information in the area disappears, as the tests performed are not shared publicly. Exclusion methods is the most common method used today and not measured values that have been tested. This report examines why one ski is faster than the other using technical data.The pilot study identified problems-, analyzed articles, and made the necessary preparations for the interviews. During the rest of the study, the main part of the time has been put into glide testing, an inspection of the structure and also observing the base of the ski with a microscope at the laboratory in Uppsala.The result covers theoretical evidence based on the measurement data that has been subtracted at the Ångstöms laboratory. With the help of three different structures aiming for varying characters, the result shows how these different structured bases interact with the snow. The structures used were full bed Cross structure, Cross structure withshaped edges and fishbone structure.Conclusions about the project are that the ski test that was performed did not maintain a sufficiently high standard. To be able to prove that one of the structures was faster than the other you need to develop the ski test. The times indicate a difference in the structures, but due to the shortcomings in the test that arose, it cannot be established with certainty that it is only the structure that causes the time to be affected.Karakterisering av ytstrukturen på en alpinskidas belagMittuniversitetet2022-05-25Based on the Mid Sweden University template for technical reports, written by Magnus Eriksson, Kenneth Berg and MivIt is not possible to find any correlation between the microscope images and the results obtained from the tests, which led to the goal not being achieved by finding the parameters that affect the friction between skisand snow / <p>2022-07-01</p>